I left the church when I was 18, and still (at the age of 36) I am trying to figure some things out. I honestly don't like talking to therapists or anyone like that. I am just curious if anyone has a recommended reading list for someone like me. I am out and not going back... but I guess just books that helped you?
Thanks

God is not Great by Christopher Hitchens.
The Moral Landscape by Sam Harris
Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris (available pdf online)
The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker
Religion for Atheists by Alain Botton
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
The Re-enchantment of Everyday Life by Thomas Moore

auntsukey Wrote:
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> The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker
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Excellent book, seconded

'God is not Great' is a brutally eloquent take-down of Christianity and the other Abrahamic religions. It takes you out of the mindset wherein religious believers are owed some form of respect for their beliefs.

Like a bucket of cold water to the face - you wake up suddenly on reading it, and in retrospect, the entire Christian story, and the history of the Christian, Jewish and Islamic church(es) seems irrational and nasty and wholly constructed by men.

Hitchens had a brilliant mind and was utterly unafraid to deploy his intellect against Churchmen who, consciously or unconsciously, promoted childish and dangerous religious story-telling.

Conversely, you may prefer something less confronting, and more focused on debunking the Mormon story in particular, as suggested by others here.

For seconding Christopher Hitchens.

For a sample of his elegant wit and moral reasoning, try this: five minutes of pure delightful intelligence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqK4TM97ZCE

"The Big Book of Laztheism" by Judic West.

It is very hard to find, but worth every second of the roughly 30 seconds it takes to read it!

But of course I am slightly prejudiced, so...

you're right, it doesn't take long to read, but the pictures are great!

One book was life changing for me.

"No Man Knows My History" Fawn Brodie (Niece of David O. McKay)

I read the book decades after I had left the church in the 70's before the truth started coming out--like I was ever going to find it at BYU anyway, haha. Still no reason to not believe Central American ruins were the left overs of the Nephites and Lamanites. Brodie's book filled in the blanks I didn't even know I needed to be filled in. Sounds like that is where you are at perhaps. Finding that biography with footnotes, references, court documents, letters, etc was very serendipitous for me.

Mormonism: its leaders and designs.
Written in 1856 by John Hyde. Published a few months before the MMM. It's available as a reprint.

John Hyde was a very early convert (1848 at age 15) in England. Heard Parley P Pratt and John Taylor preach and deny that the new church practiced polygamy even though they knew the truth.

He was ordained as a "seventy" in 1851, immigrated in 1853, sent on missions to France, and Sandwich Islands. By 1856, he'd seen enough.

Highly recommend this book.

Some books that have often been recommended here:

No Man Knows My History (Fawn Brodie) -- a well-researched book; This might be your first choice

In Sacred Loneliness (Todd Compton) -- for the lowdown on early Mormon polygamy

Early Mormonism and the Magic World View -- D. Michael Quinn

Check out the list from the Utah Lighthouse Ministry. You can call the shop to get recommendations for your particular area of interest.

http://www.utlm.org/booklist/orderauthortitle.htm

If you are of a mind to go down the rabbit hole regarding the historical Jesus, I like:

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (Reza Aslan)

See my list at http://packham.n4m.org/list2.htm

Also, books even a Mormon would be willing to read:
http://packham.n4m.org/not-anti.htm

Richard Packham’s list above is excellent.

Grant Palmer’s An Insider's View of Mormon Origins helped me out of the weeds I fell into while reading about the early church, trying desperately to hang on to being Mormon.

Thanks so much to everyone for the list of books. I don't tend to talk about the issues and impact from my time in church and my wife did not grow up as a Mormon so she has no real idea on a lot of this, though she is supportive as best she can. The reading helps a lot, and it is a nice quiet "therapy" that I can handle at my own pace and time. Thanks all!

Screen Name Wrote:
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> I am trying to figure some things out.

Recommendations depend on what type of things you're trying to figure out.

The Book of Mormon

Recovering Agency by Luna Lindsay

https://www.amazon.com/Recovering-Agency-Lifting-Mormon-Control/dp/1489595937

Faith Unraveled giving a glowing review in a TT about it

https://www.tiktok.com/@faith.unraveled/video/7111145725383200043